A Story of Love
by Queen Arabia
Summary: The story of Mary Ann and Gilligan. And the story of Ginger and the Professor. A MAG and PINGER fantasy. My first story, hope you like it! The story is better than this summary, just so you know. Please review!
1. First Sight

_Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,  
__ a tale of a fateful trip,  
that started from this tropic port,  
aboard this tiny ship.  
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,_  
_the Skipper, brave and sure,  
five passengers set sail that day,  
for a three hour tour! A three hour tour!  
__The weather started getting rough,  
__the tiny ship was tossed,  
if not for the courage of the fearless crew,_  
_the Minnow would be lost! The Minnow would be lost!_  
_The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,_  
_with Gilligan,_  
_the Skipper too,_  
_the Millionaire,_  
_and his wife, the movie star,_  
_the Professor and,_  
_Mary Ann,_  
_here on Gilligan's Isle!  
_

* * *

It was a beautiful day in Hawaii, as young Mary Ann Summers of Kansas stepped off the plane. She had one week here in Hawaii, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. Mary Ann walked down the street, looking for something exiting to do. She wanted to get out and see the sights, before she had to go back to Kansas.

Then she saw the sign 'S.S. Minnow, Island Charter' She smiled, and a skinny man in a red shirt saw her and exclaimed,

"Oh boy! Another customer, I better go get the Skipper!" He turned around, and promptly fell overboard.

Mary Ann covered her mouth in shock, wondering if she should do something.

"Skipper!" he cried, and an older man came out of the cabin, saying

"Now what, Gilligan? Can't you see I'm busy? "He spotted the now dripping man named Gilligan as he climbed aboard, and laughed. "Little buddy, when will you learn!" The smaller man pouted.

"But Skipper, I was just gonna tell you about the customer..."

"Customer?"

He turned around, seeing Mary Ann for the first time.

"Well, why didn't you say so, Gilligan? Hello there, Miss, what can I do for you?"

Mary Ann smiled. "Can you give me an island tour? I'd love to see the sights here!"

The Skipper replied, "Why certainly. We can fit you into our next tour. We leave at one. If I may ask, your name..."

"Of course. I'm Mary Ann Summers, from Winfield, Kansas."

Gilligan's eyes lit up. "Oh boy, we're gonna have such a neat group today, Skipper, with a real live movie star, and real millionaires, and a professor, and now a real live farm girl too!"

Mary Ann smiled at his exuberance, and told the Skipper she'd be there. As she walked off, she heard Gilligan ask,

"By the way, Skipper, what does a professor do?"

* * *

It was two o'clock, and the Minnow was in a bit of trouble. There was a storm brewing, and the tiny ship was caught right in the middle of it.

The Skipper had Gilligan running around doing everything from taking care of the passengers to tying down whatever was rolling around on deck. But somehow, Gilligan managed to find the time to be gentle and caring, right in the midst of it all.

Mary Ann never forgot how he took her hand and led her into the cabin, making sure she didn't fall on the slippery deck, before dashing off again. He even brought their luggage inside, to the relief of the very rich Howells.

"I hope we get back soon, I had a date tonight!" sighed Ginger Grant, the movie star.

Roy Hinkly, the Professor, looked out the tiny cabin porthole, and replied. "It doesn't look like it, Ginger. Those clouds are cumulo-nimbus clouds. They can precipitate for days!"

"Could you repeat that in English, Professor?" purred Ginger, not wanting him to stop talking.

"Why certainly, Ginger. They're big storm clouds, and they can storm for days." He said, seriously. Ginger decided she liked his voice and thought it was comforting.

The five remained in the little cabin for hours, as the ship tossed and turned.

Mary Ann heard the Skipper shouting at Gilligan to let the anchor down, followed by a splash.

She eventually drifted to sleep, lulled by the ship's rocking.

When Mary Ann woke up, the others were all asleep, Ginger's head in the Professors lap, with his head in turn resting on her back, and the Howells all cuddled up together.

She went outside, to see what had happened during the storm, to find Gilligan fishing halfheartedly.

"Where's the Skipper?" She inquired, and he looked up and mumbled

"Oh, he's sleeping. Boy, what a storm..." He shook his head, exausted.

"But why isn't anybody steering the boat?" She asked, thinking that maybe this three hour tour hadn't been such a good idea, after all.

"There's no reason to steer, Mary Ann. We're drifting." Gilligan explained, seemingly unconcerned by the fact.

"But why are we drifting? Mary Ann was getting worried. "Gilligan, shouldn't we be going back?"

He looked at her wearily, and admitted, "We can't. We ran out of fuel last night, and we've been drifting ever since."

She was shocked. "What? We have? What are we going to do?"

Gilligan shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. At least, that's what the Skipper said... I think it's an adventure!" He grinned boyishly, yawned, and fell asleep, exausted from running around all night fighting the storm.

Mary Ann sighed and went back into the cabin, leaving him to his rest.


	2. A Crush on You

It had been a few months since they were shipwrecked.

Mary Ann was baking a coconut creme pie for dessert as she thought about her life here. She found she was getting used to life on the island. Of course, she missed home as much as anybody, but she was happy, and she found the work here was comfortingly similar to work on the farm, back in Kansas.

Her reverie was interrupted when Gilligan burst into camp, followed closely by a dripping Skipper, who was waving his sopping wet hat comically.

Mary Ann watched, trying not to laugh, as Gilligan was chased around and around, and finally straight off into the jungle.

Mary Ann suddenly thought it was kind of cute how Gilligan always held his hat on his head as he ran, and his boyishness only made it cuter.

The thought made her blush a little, and she quickly returned her thoughts to baking. However, her mind kept wandering back to Gilligan. She adored his perfect innocence, though it got annoying sometimes, and she loved how hard he always tried to make everyone else happy, and how no matter what, he was always so gentle and caring...

And though he did mess up a lot, he always meant well. Like the time he tripped while running into the Marubi cave and accidentally set off the vine trap the Professor had set up. Mary Ann smiled at the memory.

"Mary Ann, have you seen my mirror?" asked Ginger, coming out of their hut.

"You left it in the clearing, remember, Ginger?" reminded Mary Ann.

Ginger giggled. "Oh yeah, I'll go get it!" She sauntered off in search of her mirror.

* * *

The Professor was leaning against a rock in the clearing, reading.

He looked up as Ginger approached. "Professor, have you seen my mirror? I think it's around here somewhere..." She reasoned.

He looked around. "It's right over there, Ginger," he told her, pointing.

She smiled, spotting the mirror. "Oh, thank you, Professor!" She picked it up and sashayed back to the huts.

The Professor couldn't help but watch her pretty form recede, and he thought about how beautifully talented she was, yet often wished she was a nurse instead of a movie star, due to her desire to help others.

He knew she didn't know of his feelings for her, and he was far too shy to tell her.

He remembered when he'd attempted to make nails for the Minnow, and she came over and told him in her silky seductive way how wonderful it was that he could do experiments with such shaky hands, and he'd replied honestly that they hadn't been shaking until a minute ago. That was the closest he'd ever come to telling her.

Just then, Gilligan came tearing through the clearing, hand to his hat, giggling uncontrollably. He was gone before the Professor could ask what was going on. However, he got his answer when he saw Skipper come lumbering after Gilligan. He was soaked and bits of leaves were stuck all over, making him look rather hilarious.

The Professor had to hide a laugh behind his book.

"Ooh, when I get my hands on him.." Skipper muttered angrily as he trudged past.


	3. I Like You, Do You Like Me?

Mary Ann was sitting right under the tree Gilligan was in, reading some silly love story. She couldn't see him, because of the rustling leaves, and she didn't know he was there. But he could see her, and he was watching over her. Just in case.

He didn't know why he hadn't realized it before, but she had the cutest nose. And the prettiest brown eyes he'd ever seen.

And the best pies ever, he thought mischeviously, finishing off the pie he'd found in the clearing.

He knew she'd be a little bit upset that he'd eaten her pie before dinner, but she'd forgive him.

She always did.

She was the nicest girl he'd ever met. She wasn't like Ginger at all. Ginger was always taking advantage of him, getting him to do things for her. Mary Ann would never do that, which was why she was his best friend. Well, one of the reasons, anyway.

He looked at her, with her beautiful brown hair up in pigtails as usual, and he was drawn to her. He'd never felt like this before, and he didn't really know what it meant. He was confused by this new feeling, and so he just pretended it wasn't there. Because if he thought it wasn't there, it shouldn't be there. But it _was_ there, and he found it hard to ignore. The feeling made him blush, and that made him try to hide it even more.

Suddenly, Mary Ann stood up. Gilligan knew she was going to check on her pie. He didn't want her to get mad at him later, so he dropped the pie plate, pretending it was an accident. Better she was mad at him now so he could get it over with.

She looked at it and sighed, hands on hips. "Gilligan, what did I tell you about eating the pies I put out to cool?" She called, looking up at the trees, looking for him.

"Sorry, Mary Ann... they're so good, though!" He apologized sheepishly to her, peeking out of his tree. She was cute even when she was mad at him.

She just shook her head and went off to bake a new pie.

He thought she was hiding a smile.

* * *

Ginger was getting frustrated.

They were stranded in the most romantic place on the face of the earth, and the Professor still hadn't noticed her. She'd tried everything. She helped him with his experiments, played hard to get, used makeup and perfume extravagantly, and flirted shamelessly with him.

The only reaction she ever got from him was shaky hands and a look he thought she didn't see. He was almost as bad as Gilligan, she thought.

Then she took it back. No matter how blind to her he was, the Professor was nothing like the blundering innocent first mate. The Professor was thoughtful, handsome, and smart, whereas Gilligan was... Well, he was Gilligan.

She shook her head, finishing the laundry.

She wished the Professor would just pull his nose out of his silly little makeshift lab and look around. Here she was, just waiting for him to come and love her, and he was more interested in his marvelous ferns.

She knew she shouldn't be upset, it wasn't his fault, but she loved him. And she really had tried everything.

She sighed. Exept the one thing she wasn't brave enough to do. She couldn't tell him how she felt.

She was afraid of what might happen, afraid of things that might affect their friendship.

And, though she'd never admit it, her biggest fear of all was rescue. If they were rescued, the castaways would fall apart, and they'd never see eachother again.

Every time they thought they were going to be rescued, Ginger thought, "Oh god. I have to tell Professor how I feel, before it's too late!" And then, Gilligan managed to mess something up, and life would go back to normal. She would sigh in relief and then think of how she'd almost lost him again.

**Sorry the last couple of chapters were so short, next one will be longer, I promise.**


	4. It's Love: Part One

Gilligan was walking past the girl's hut when he overheard Ginger talking to Mary Ann. He crept over to the window, curious.

"-What I don't understand, Mary Ann, is why you don't just tell him. After all, he is only Gilligan." Ginger was putting mascara on again, and Mary Ann was sitting on her bed, looking frustrated.

"Oh, Ginger, you just don't understand! I can't tell him, He'd only run away from me..."

She looked so sad, just sitting there, Gilligan thought, peeking in, wondering what she might tell him that would make him run away.

"Well... I suppose you're right, Mary Ann, he might run away, but I'm sure he'd come back eventually. He always does, after I try to get something from him," replied Ginger, applying yet another layer of make-up.

Mary Ann looked up through teary brown eyes. "Ginger, he comes back because he knows it's just your way of getting what you want... Oh, Ginger, I'm so afraid of what he might do if I told him I love him!" Mary Ann cried, and burst into tears.

This came like a blow to the stomach to Gilligan, and he had to sit down before he fell over. Mary Ann loved him?

He heard the bed creak as Ginger sat down beside Mary Ann, serious. "Mary Ann! How do you think you'd feel if you didn't tell him how you feel, and we were rescued? You'd never see him again!"

"Well..." Mary Ann blinked away her tears, "I wouldn't let that happen... I-I couldn't!"

Gilligan crept away, having heard enough to make him feel as if he might explode. He got up, and ran into the jungle, needing time to think.

"Mary Ann loves me?" he whispered. He could hardly believe it. "Oh boy! Mary Ann loves me!"

Then he stopped, realizing what his strange feeling really meant. "Mary Ann doesn't just love me... I love her back!"

He found that while he'd been thinking, his feet had taken him to a tiny clearing only he knew about, his very own secret place, with a little pool and everything. It was always so peaceful and quiet here, and so he sat down, and before long, found himself fast asleep.

* * *

"Skipper, have you seen Gilligan?" asked Mary Ann, slightly worried.

He was usually down by the lagoon, or off caddying for Mr. Howell, or something like that, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

"Why no, Mary Ann, I haven't seen him. I think he's off exploring or something. I'm sorry I couldn't help..."

"Oh, thanks anyway, Skipper. I think I'll go looking for him. He can't be that far..." She was getting nervous about the idea of telling him how she felt, but Ginger was right, she had to tell him.

And the sooner the better, she thought. "But what will he do when I tell him? Oh... What if he runs away? I can't catch up to him, he's far too fast... Or what if he faints? What could I do? I can't carry him! Or what if he knocks himself out like he does with Ginger? I'd never forgive myself!"

She walked right by Gilligan's secret little clearing, not seeing him there, leaning against a tree, fast asleep.

"Gilligan! Oh, Gilligan! Where are you!"

Gilligan woke up to hear her calling for him, and not knowing what else to do, nervously followed, still out of sight.

He saw that she was following the path, and so took a shortcut he often used, running to get ahead of her.

When Gilligan reached the path, ahead of Mary Ann, he climbed a tree so he could watch for her.

He could hear her calling, "Gilligan? Oh, Gilligan! Gilligan, where are you?" Now Gilligan could see her, too, sweet, pretty face creased with worry, and he realized his heart was racing.

"Mary Ann loves me and I love Mary Ann!" he repeated to himself, almost giddy with joy, and then he realized something.

"I know I love Mary Ann, and I know Mary Ann loves me, but Mary Ann doesn't know I love her, or that I know she loves me..." Gilligan thought. "I gotta tell her I love her... But how? I'm not good at this!"

By now, Mary Ann had passed under his branch, and he nervously said "Hi, Mary Ann."

She was so cute, he thought, as she looked around in suprise.

Mary Ann looked around, startled. Where was he?

"I'm up here, Mary Ann"

She looked up, hands on hips, "Gilligan, come down from there, you'll hurt yourself!"

He protested, "No I won't! See, I got my legs wrapped around the-" Crash!

Gilligan looked sheepishly at Mary Ann, "-Branch..."

She rushed over to him, worried. "Oh, Gilligan! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mary Ann."

"Good. Um, Gilligan, I have to tell you something. I-"

Just then, they heard the Skipper yell. "GILLIGAN!"

"Uh oh, I better go see what I did wrong, or what I didn't do that I was supposed to, or..."

She interrupted his babbling. " Gilligan! I-"

"GILLIGAN!" The Skipper shouted again.

"I'll see you later, Mary Ann!" And he was off like a shot, holding his hat to his head,

"Coming, Skipper!"

Mary Ann sighed. There was no way she was going to tell him in front of the Skipper, or in front of anyone else, for that matter.

As she followed the trail back to camp she couldn't help but think of how sweet and gentle Gilligan was, and she found herself fantasizing what it would be like if Gilligan was hers forever.

She almost ran into a tree, she'd gotten so caught up in it.

"I love Gilligan so much... I love his innocent blue eyes, and his wonderful smile that lights up his whole face, and his boyish charm... I love how he always lets the butterflies go after he catches them, and how he wants to be friends with everybody, and how he always has his cute little hat on... Oh, if anything ever happened to him... I don't know what I'd do!"

* * *

Skipper had Gilligan climbing for coconuts, so he had plenty of time to think.

"Mary Ann... I love her so much! She's the nicest, prettiest girl I ever met, and I just can't believe she loves me back... Oh, how am I gonna tell her? I can hardly wait for her to tell me! Oh, I'm so shy, I know I am. Whenever I see her coming... All I wanna do is run away but I also wanna run to her... I want to be with her, and I wanna love her more, I want her and me... I want us to be "Us". But I gotta tell her first."

He chopped at a coconut, frustrated, and it managed to land on the Skipper's foot.

"Doop! GILLIGAN!"

"Sorry, Skipper!" Gilligan leaned out to hack at another coconut, just out of reach, and promptly fell out of the tree.

Of course, he landed on the Skipper. "Gilligan, what did I tell you about falling out of trees?"

"Um... Not to?" He answered sheepishly.

Skipper whacked him with his hat. "Yes, Gilligan, that's right."

Gilligan looked at the Skipper apologetically, and he relented. "Alright, Gilligan, we can go back to the huts now."

"Oh boy! That's great Skipper, now Mary Ann can tell me what she was gonna say before!" Gilligan grinned, exited, and Skipper did a double take, thinking he knew just what she'd been about to tell Gilligan.

"What? Mary Ann was going to tell you something? Well, little buddy, I'm sorry I interupted..."

"Oh, that's okay, Skipper, I already know what she was gonna say!" Skipper just shook his head, slightly confused, as Gilligan tore off toward the huts, forgetting to take the bag of coconuts.

Gilligan found Mary Ann with Ginger doing the laundry.

"Hi Ginger, hi, Mary Ann! Come on, Mary Ann, let's go!" He impatiently grabbed her hand and pulled her off into the jungle.

"Gilligan! Where are we going?" He grinned back at her, with his cute boyish smile, and suddenly she didn't care where they were going.

"To a real neat place I found, Mary Ann, come on!" By the time they got there, she was tired from running so far, and Gilligan knew it.

"Oh, Gilligan! It's beautiful!" They were standing beside a stream, which ran on about twelve feet before dissapearing over a cliff, which overlooked the ocean.

"So... Mary Ann, what'd you wanna tell me?" Gilligan asked, innocently, sitting down with her.

"Gilligan... I wanted to tell you that... Wait, Gilligan! Promise you won't run away?"

He awkwardly took her hands in his, staring into her eyes, and said "I promise, Mary Ann. Scout's Honour." He held up three fingers, and she smiled, reassured.

"I wanted to tell you that..." She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, as her face grew red. She blurted, "Oh, Gilligan... I love you!"

Gilligan just sat there for a moment, eyes wide, speechless at hearing her actually tell him. If he hadn't been expecting it, he was sure he would have fainted.

He realized Mary Ann was looking at him anxiously, waiting for a response, but his mind had gone completely blank, and he was trying to remember what to say. He blushed, feeling much more awkward than usual.

She'd never been so nervous before. But then, Gilligan found his voice, and said the one thing she hadn't prepared herself to hear.

"I love you too, Mary Ann." He said it quietly, and more seriously than he'd ever said anything in his life, and then he instinctively leaned in and kissed her very quickly on the lips, suprising them both. He pulled back quickly, looking shocked.

"Oh, Gilligan!" She hugged him as tight as she could, and lifted her face, about to say something else, but he kissed her again, a little bit longer, his face now getting beet red, and she forgot what she was going to say. They sat there awkwardly for a long time, staring at eachother, and then Gilligan noticed a tropical flower on the other side of the stream.

"I'm gonna get you that flower, Mary Ann. I... I love you."

She smiled as he picked his way across the stream. She lay back for a moment to look at the beautiful sky, thinking her day was perfect, and almost immediately heard a splash.

"Gilligan!" She turned around just in time to see him go over the edge of the waterfall, arms and legs flailing.

"Oh, Gilligan! I'm coming!"

She was afraid it would take too long to pick her way down the cliff, so she simply jumped into the river, not really thinking. When she went over the edge she realized it was not all so far down, maybe ten feet, and she landed in a large pool at the bottom. But where was Gilligan? He came up behind her, and she squealed as he gently picked her up in his arms, laughing.

* * *

A few days later, they lay on the ground, watching the sunset after a day of butterfly hunting and chasing eachother. "Mary Ann? Mary Ann? Are you asleep?" Gilligan asked quietly, sitting up. A small snuffling sound from the girl next to him confirmed his suspitions. Mary Ann was asleep. Gilligan looked at her lovingly. She looked so perfect, lying there like that.

"We gotta go back to the huts now, Mary Ann..."

But Mary Ann was exausted from running and playing earlier, and wouldn't wake up.

Gilligan could see this, and so he lifted her in his arms and carried her all the way back to the huts. He wondered briefly where Ginger was, as he placed Mary Ann carefully on her bed, making sure to tuck her covers up to her chin.

He smiled down at the sleeping girl, then bent and kissed her. He felt awkward whenever he kissed her, but she seemed to like it, so he didn't mind.

He slept well that night, dreaming of Mary Ann.

Mary Ann dreamt of Gilligan, and even though he messed things up, even in her dreams, he was perfect.

She had never slept better in her life than she had since they told eachother.

When she woke up every morning, her first thought was always of Gilligan.

This particular morning, she prepared a special breakfast for him, only to find that Skipper had sent him off on a multitude of chores, and that he wouldn't be back until dinner.

Mary Ann then declared that she would be gone too, to everyones surprise and horror. That meant Ginger was cooking. She knew she was being silly and childish, but she had decided that if Gilligan wasn't going to be there, neither was she. Instead of cooking something for everybody, like usual, she prepared a special lunch, just for Gilligan.

She went off in search of him, and found him perched in a coconut tree, a short distance from camp.

He almost fell out of the tree when he smelled his lunch.

"Oh boy! This is amazing, Mary Ann!" He declared with his usual boyish charm, then, looking up, added, "Almost as amazing as you."

Mary Ann's heart skipped a beat. "That was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, Gilligan! Oh, I love you, you're so sweet!"

Gilligan ducked his head, embarrased. "I'm only half as sweet as you are, Mary Ann." They kissed, and though it still felt awkward to Gilligan, it felt less so than before. "No," she whispered in his ear, "You're twice as sweet as I am."

* * *

Ginger was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on with Mary Ann and Gilligan.

Mary Ann just seemed to get happier and happier every day and she stuck to Gilligan's side like a burr. When Gilligan went butterfly hunting, so did Mary Ann. When he went swimming, so did she. When he was sent off on an errand, she went with him.

Ginger was determined to find the truth, because if she didn't, she might end up cooking every day, and she was sure the others would mutiny.

Mary Ann had told her she hadn't told Gilligan, but now Ginger was beginning to suspect something.

Really, when she'd tried to convince Mary Ann to tell Gilligan, she was actually trying to convince herself to tell the Professor, but now it seemed as if Mary Ann was hiding something...

"Mary Ann, are you alright?" she inquired one day, as Mary Ann was baking yet another cononut creme pie for Gilligan.

Mary Ann replied, "Why, I'm fine! In fact, I've never felt better. Why do you ask?"

Ginger paused, "Well... it's just that you've been acting kind of strange lately, that's all."

Mary Ann looked at her innocently, taking the pie out of her makeshift oven, "Whatever do you mean, Ginger?"

"Well, you've been baking an awful lot of pies, and you've been going everywhere with Gilligan, too!"

Mary Ann laughed, "Is that all? Just because I've been spending time with my best friend?"

Ginger's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't forget the pies, Mary Ann."

Mary Ann just shook her head and walked off, leaving her pie to cool.

Ginger went back to tell the Howells that plan A had failed. She'd have to resort to plan B.

* * *

The Professor had been out gathering fern samples on the other side of the island for the past week, and expected everything to be normal when he returned. Well, at least as normal as could be with Gilligan around, he thought, but when he walked into camp around lunchtime, he found Ginger cooking.

She nearly leapt into his arms, she was so happy to see him.

"Oh, Professor! Help me cook this, huh, I don't know how!" She looked rather frustrated, he thought.

"Where's Mary Ann?" He asked, puzzled.

"Oh, she's off somewhere with Gilligan. Again. If he isn't coming back for lunch, she leaves the rest of us to fend for ourselves and takes him something special. There's something strange going on, Professor. Gilligan is more distracted than ever, and Mary Ann's so happy she could burst! And I've got to get to the bottom of it!"

The Professor saw the determination on Ginger's face and brightly asked, "Oh, are you a Secret Agent again?"

"Yeah! I'm Secret Agent 18-22-09!" She giggled. As she sauntered off, leaving him to cook lunch, the Professor couldn't help but think some very un-scientific things about her legs, as he watched her go.

* * *

About a month later, as Ginger followed Gilligan,

she thought "If only I could tell the Professor how I feel, how hard my heart beats when he looks at me, how it takes everything I've got to stop myself from just leaning in to kiss him... He may be an expert when it comes to how some silly plant grows, but he's just so hopeless when it comes to romance... Sometimes I feel as if he hardly realizes I'm even a girl, but then... Oh, I don't know anymore... All I know, is I love him. I love Professor Roy Hinkly."

Ginger carefully stepped into the bushes, seeing her quarry, Gilligan, stop in a small clearing.

She crept closer, seeing Mary Ann there too.

They were talking, though she was still too far away to hear them.

But she could certainly see them.

She watched as Mary Ann cuddled up to him, hugging him tightly. Ginger raised her eyebrows as Gilligan hugged her back, resting his head on hers.

"If that's nothing, I'm not Ginger Grant!" She whispered, eyes widened.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing! Gilligan was cuddling with Mary Ann! Ginger moved closer.

She could see from her new position that they were holding hands, and she wished the Professor would do that with her.

She could hear them now, talking quietly. Gilligan was telling Mary Ann about a little bird he'd made friends with, and how it reminded him of her. For once, he wasn't acting his story out.

"- And he had brown feathers on his chest, and they were just like your hair, and he had red feathers on his head, like your hair ribbons, and black feathers on his tail and his wings, just like..."

Ginger wished she could share innocent moments like these with the Professor, she thought, momentarily tuning Gilligan out.

"I got an idea, Mary Ann! Maybe I can show him to you!" Gilligan said, exited at his idea. He began to make loud whistling noises, and Ginger thought he sounded for all the world like an actual songbird. He held up his hand, just in time for a tiny little bird to land on it.

Ginger decided it was just about the cutest thing she'd ever seen, and obviously so did Mary Ann, for her eyes widened, and she hugged him tighter.

"Oh, Gilligan, you're so sweet!"

Mary Ann looked up at Gilligan, smiling, as he ducked his head, embarrased.

"I'm not half as sweet as you are, Mary Ann."

"No," she countered, "You're twice as sweet as me!"

Ginger was about to leave, thinking maybe she should go, and leave them in peace. The bird had flown off by then, and they'd been repeating that to eachother for a long time, and she was tired of the ritual. But then, just as she turned to go, she saw Gilligan kiss Mary Ann softly on the lips.

Ten minutes later, she was reporting to the Howells.

Mrs. Howell got quite exited when she heard about the holding hands and cuddling.

"Oh, Thurston, I knew they were a perfect match, I just knew it! Oh, I've got a million things to do for the wedding!"

She looked positively thrilled, thought Ginger.

"Oh, no, Lovey, not that again!" panicked Mr. Howell.

"Poo! Oh, do continue, Ginger!" Mrs. Howell interjected.

"Oh, just wait until you hear about the kiss!" Ginger stated, a twinkle in her eye.

Mr. Howell was interested now. He asked, "Mary Ann kissed Gilligan? And he didn't run away or knock himself out? Well, speak up, girl!"

Ginger was happy to finally have some real gossip to tell. She said, "Oh, no, you've got it all wrong. Mary Ann didn't kiss Gilligan... Gilligan kissed Mary Ann!"

She looked down at the Howells, now lying on the floor of their hut.

"What did I say to make them faint?" She wondered aloud.

* * *

The Professor watched Ginger in amusement from his window.

She was telling the Skipper what she'd seen in the clearing, just as she'd told him a minute ago.

"He WHAT!" The Skipper repeated, amazed.

"Uh huh, he did!" Giggled Ginger.

The Professor could have just sat there all day, watching Ginger, but he had experiments to perform. However, he just couldn't stop thinking of her, so he wasn't really doing anything but fidjiting around with his lab equipment.

Ten minutes later, Professor could still hear Skipper muttering about what Gilligan did, and he wished he could do the same with Ginger.

But he was far too shy, and so he stayed in his hut, trying to determine the molecular integrity of the ferns he'd collected.

He just couldn't concentrate, though, no matter how interesting it was.

It still wasn't as interesting as Ginger.

* * *

"I got him! I got him!" Mary Ann squealed in delight, looking at the butterfly she'd caught.

"Gee, Mary Ann, that's nice, but please take that net away!" Gilligan said mournfully from under the butterfly net. "I'm not a butterfly, you know."

She laughed and told him about the butterfly sitting on his head.

That made him giggle, and she removed her net from his head, replacing it with a kiss.

"I love you, Gilligan," she whispered.

"I love you too, Mary Ann," he replied softly. She smiled.

"You know, we'd better get back to camp, Gilligan. You know, before the others get worried." She declared. Gilligan, with his usual boyish charm, happily agreed.

As they walked back to camp, Mary Ann thought about how lucky they were, being stranded together.

She remembered back to when she woke up on the Minnow, after the storm. She'd been so worried... They all had been. But somehow, Gilligan had managed to cheer everyone up.

* * *

**Flashback to the Shipwreck...**

Mary Ann sat up, looking around. She was in the cabin of the S.S. Minnow, she realized.

The first thing she saw was the porthole, and through it, the skinny first mate, in his red shirt.

He was sitting in a palm tree, hacking at coconuts with a machete. She smiled faintly, but then her mind registered what that meant.

"A palm tree, that means we're on land!" Rushing out of the little cabin, she jumped off the Minnow into the sand, only to see the holes. Her exitement faded, as she realized.

"This isn't Hawaii..."

She walked over to the Skipper, and despairingly asked where they were.

The Skipper only shook his head, replying that he wasn't sure.

Mary Ann watched as he trudged over to the palm tree, just as Gilligan dropped the coconut.

Of course, it landed on Skipper's head.

"Doop! Gilligan? Will you come down from there!" Gilligan looked down at the Skipper, grinning cheekily. "Aye-aye, Skipper!" With that, he half shimmied, half fell out of the tree.

Mary Ann stifled a giggle at his antics. She couldn't help but think he was kind of cute...

**Back to now.**

* * *

As they strolled into camp, smiling, they spectulated on whether to tell the others or not.

"I think we should tell them, Mary Ann. You know I can't keep a secret. We're just lucky that nobody's asked me yet." Gilligan maintained.

"Well... Ginger is getting suspitious, she asked me what was going on. I guess... Yeah. Let's tell them as soon as everybody's here." Mary Ann gave in.

Later, at dinner, she nudged Gilligan.

"Huh? Oh! Um.. Me and Mary Ann have something to say..." He tried to announce.

Unfortunately, nobody was listening.

All of a sudden, Mary Ann screamed as loud as she could. "Gilligan has something to say." She proclaimed innocently in the following silence.

"Uh.. Yeah! I gotta tell you something. Um... Me and Mary Ann are... We're a couple." He stuttered, slightly embarassed at everyone's continued silence.

Then Mrs. Howell spoke. "Oh, we already knew that!"

Mary Ann turned to Gilligan, startled. "Gilligan, did you tell?"

She looked hurt, and Gilligan protested. "I didn't tell, Mary Ann! Scout's honour!"

She seemed to calm down a little. Gilligan wouldn't lie about something like that. "If you didn't tell, and I didn't tell, then how does everyone know?"

Ginger spoke up, admitting, "I told them. I saw Gilligan kiss you, and well, we have so little gossip here..."

Mary Ann looked dissapointed, but Gilligan just shrugged. "Like this?" He asked innocently, a twinkle in his eye, and kissed Mary Ann gently on the lips. He found his awkwardness had faded away, and he wasn't so shy anymore.

When they eventually broke the kiss, they looked up to find the Howells in a dead faint, Skipper blubbering "He kissed her.. My little buddy actually kissed her!" Over and over, and Ginger and the Professor staring at eachother, oblivious to everything around them.

So the young couple kissed again, happy with what they had, there on a deserted island, somewhere in the pacific.


	5. It's Love: Part Two

The Professor frowned in concentration, as he carefully pounded the blue powder in an empty coconut shell. It was finally finished. He'd spent all morning mixing various things to make this for Ginger. She had made a comment the last time they weren't rescued, and he had decided to cheer her up. She'd run out of eyeshadow, and he would make her more. Professor knew she'd be delighted.

"Ginger? I made something for you," he said a while later, knocking on the door to her hut. He wondered briefly why he felt so nervous. He was only taking her some eyeshadow, after all.

"Ginger's not here, Professor. She went sunbathing somewhere. What'd you make for her this time?" Mary Ann asked teasingly, opening the door to let him in. The Professor was slightly disappointed to hear that. He'd been looking forward to seeing the expression on Ginger's face when she opened the clamshell and saw the eyeshadow he'd made, but it looked like he wasn't going to be able to. He wondered briefly if his disappointment spread to more than missing a smile. Maybe, just maybe, he'd been hoping for a kiss.

"Oh! Well, I uh, only stopped by to give Ginger this eyeshadow I made for her... I'll just put it on the table here." He stammered, placing it carefully on the table beside her mirror. He turned, about to leave, but Mary Ann stopped him, hands on hips.

"Professor, when are you going to tell her? She's been trying to get you since we were shipwrecked, for goodness sakes, and it's driving her crazy!" Mary Ann said bluntly.

"When I'm ready," the Professor told her quietly, and walked away. He knew that wasn't the correct answer, and that he'd never be truly ready, but he needed time. He had to find the right moment. And then he'd tell her. He knew the moment was coming, he could feel the pressure of it threatening to overwhelm him, engulf him.

* * *

Gilligan was helping Skipper fix the Howell's hut roof. At least, he was trying to help.

"Gilligan, would you bring that bamboo pole over here," Skipper called from the top of the ladder, impatient as always.

"Sure, Skipper!" Gilligan picked up the pole and turned around without looking. The pole accidentally knocked the ladder over and left Skipper to fall. It didn't help that his foot landed in the bucket of tar that Gilligan had conveniently left under the ladder not five minutes earlier. Skipper was furious.

"GILLIGAN! What do you have to say about this!" Skipper thundered, fuming.

"Oops?" Gilligan suggested sheepishly, and was rewarded with a smack from the Skipper's hat.

"Gilligan, why don't you go bother somebody else?" Skipper begged, replacing his hat on his head.

Gilligan took his cue and wandered off in search of Mary Ann. He had a feeling she was baking another pie, and he didn't want to miss out.

He was right. Mary Ann had been baking a coconut creme pie and, even better, she'd baked it just for him. He grinned happily at her as she presented him with a towering mass of golden-brown creme and filling.

"Wow, Mary Ann, this pie looks great!" he said as he sat down at the table. "And it tastes even better," he mumbled through the mouthful of creamy filling he'd stuffed in his mouth.

Mary Ann smiled and sat down across from him, resting her head in her arms as she gazed at him. She loved making Gilligan happy, and there was no better way to make him happy than to bake him a pie. She could still hardly believe how courageous he'd been, kissing her in front of everyone when they told the others about their relationship. She remembered how shy he was at first. He had insisted on making sure nobody was anywhere near, and not even Gladys was allowed to watch. But at some point Gilligan had realized he didn't care who was watching anymore. He'd stopped making sure nobody was around, and he'd finally started to relax. Because it didn't matter who saw them. Mary Ann had been thrilled by his courage. She remembered thinking how very brave of him it was, facing his fears like that.

"Here, Mary Ann, I cut you a slice," Gilligan offered, looking up, "It's really good." He pushed a slice of pie in her direction.

"Thanks, Gilligan," Mary Ann accepted her piece of pie, suprised. He got up and moved around the side of the table to sit beside her, and she cuddled up against him as he put his arms around her.

"I love you, Mary Ann," he whispered lovingly in her ear as she ate her pie. He loved how her eyes always lit up as if it were christmas when he said that, and he made a point of saying it often. He was quiet for a moment. "Mary Ann?"

"I love you too, Gilligan," she whispered back, "What is it?"

"Can I lick the plate?"

* * *

That night Ginger couldn't sleep. She decided to take a walk, thinking maybe that would help. She took the path toward the lagoon, but stopped just before she reached it, hearing a voice. It took her a moment to realize it was the Professor.

"...How am I supposed to do this? How am I to tell her? I've never felt like this about anyone, let alone _told_ them about it! And what if she feels differently, what then? I'm so worried she won't feel the same! _How_ do you tell someone you love them?" He muttered, looking down at his shoes. He was surprised to find a pair of high-heels beside them, attached to a pair of long shapely legs.

"Maybe you won't have to," came the beautiful, sultry voice, as Ginger wrapped her arms around his neck. "And you have nothing to worry about, Professor. I love you, too." He looked at her beautiful face, and said the only thing he could think of.

"I must be dreaming."

"Well, If you're dreaming, this should wake you up," declared Ginger, and kissed him passionately on the lips. When they finally broke the kiss, the Professor said,

"You're right Ginger, I'm not asleep. I must have died and gone to heaven instead." But he had a twinkle in his eye, and she knew he was teasing her. "Did you get the eyeshadow I made for you?"

"Yes, I did. I love it! It's the perfect shade to go with my complection, even better than what I had before! Oh, thank you!" She assured him, looking up at the sky. "Oh... It's getting late, I should go back to bed," she said softly.

"I should too," the Professor agreed, "Good night, Ginger, I love you,"

"I love you too, Professor. Sweet dreams." They kissed good night, and walked back to their respective huts.

* * *

The next morning, at breakfast, they told the others. Mary Ann squealed happily for them as she latched onto Gilligan's arm, and Gilligan just smiled and reached for a second helping of lobster. Mr. Howell was still half asleep, mumbling something about the stock market. Mrs. Howell was positively thrilled.

"Oh, how marvelous! Did you hear that Thurston?" Mrs. Howell nudged her husband, "Oh, I've got a million things to do!" She exclaimed, bustling off to her hut to prematurely plan their wedding. Skipper shook Professor's hand, congradulating him. Mary Ann let go of Gilligan just long enough to pull the biggest lobster out from under the Skipper's fork and present it to Professor.

"Here, Professor, this one's for you," she said as Skipper stared at his suddenly empty plate forlornly.

* * *

Now this is a tale

of our castaways they're here

for a long, long time

they'll have to make the best of things

it's an uphill climb

The First Mate and his Skipper too

will do their very best

to make the others comfortable

in their tropic island nest

No phone, no lights, no motor cars

not a single luxury

like Robinson Crusoe

it's as primitive as can be

So join us here each week my friends

you're sure to get a smile

for seven stranded castaways

here on Gilligan's Isle!


End file.
